With a month until signing day, Taylor McNamara wanted to be sure about the school he was heading to. In June, he chose Arizona—but then this fall, coach Mike Stoops was let go and it got him wondering. This week, he decided to officially end his relationship with Arizona and go with Oklahoma.

McNamara is a Sporting News Top 125 tight end, a 6-foot-5, 235-pounder out of Westview High School in San Diego. When Stoops was let go, he started lining up official visits to other schools, trekking to Colorado, Washington, Notre Dame, California and finally, Oklahoma two weeks ago. The final trip was the charm.

Taylor McNamara won't get a chance to play for Mike Stoops at Arizona, so he'll be playing for another Stoops—Bob—at Oklahoma. (AP Photo)

Back in October, one could see the change coming after Stoops was let go.

“It’s unfortunate that he had to go,” McNamara told Sporting News at the time. “I had a lot of respect for him as a coach and person and was excited to play for such a passionate coach. I’ve got to talk to my family to see what I’ll do.”

Oklahoma now has 19 commitments—three of which signed early as junior college transfers.

“Growing up, I always dreamt of being a ‘big-time’ recruit and playing the game in college that I loved so dearly,” McNamara wrote in a diary for Sporting News this summer. “… When I was 7 years old, my parents started putting me through all the sports, baseball, basketball, soccer … but they didn’t allow me to play football. … My parents will never forget my soccer coach telling them ‘this kid is too physical for soccer, you got to get him in football.' Four years of Pop Warner and (four) high school seasons football later I find myself where I am today.”